While attempting to shoot storm clouds gathering over Orlando, I was able to use an old trick that has served me well when shooting landscapes. By using a wide-angle lens, I try to find any plants around the area and put the camera close to the plants, with the landscape in the background, allowing the foliage to frame the image.

In this case, I was shooting dark clouds brewing over Lake Lucerne in downtown Orlando. I noticed crepe myrtle blooms about 8 feet off the ground. I then held my camera over my head and got the blooms at the top of the frame, with the lake and clouds in the background. I also used a flash on a long cord to pop some light into the plants.

If your camera can be manually set, use the smallest aperture setting possible to make sure everything in the pictures is in focus. In this case, I used a 16mm lens at f-22 at 1/50 of a second.